Hajja Salesjana November December 2017

8 There are as many saints as there are stars in the sky… The night sky in its magnificent beauty has beckoned to me ever since I was a small child. At night, especially on a summer’s night, I would slip away and sit on our front porch, or better still, I would lie on the grass and just look up at the stars. I learned to recognize one constellation from another and once in a while view an eclipse of the moon. That is why a statement made by our parish priest during my growing-up years has stayed with me my entire life. One Sunday, during his homily when I was in about the sixth grade, he said, “There are as many saints as there are stars in the sky.” This spoke to my very soul. I could almost feel the constellations of saints surrounding me. To this day, I still love to watch the stars and I still imagine constellations of saints above watching over our earth, well, watching over me. When the newly-constructed Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles opened its doors several years ago, I was captivated by the beautiful wall hangings filled with saints, all facing the altar with eyes riveted on that sacred sanctuary. It brought that statement back to me again, “There are as many saints as there are stars in the sky.” Isn’t that a beautiful thought? It speaks to my heart so deeply, I think, because the stars are filled with a beauteous light. “There is one glory of the sun, and another gloryof themoon, andanother gloryof the stars; for star differs from star in glory.” 1 Corinthians 15:41 There are so many saint-constellations: the constellation of martyrs, of virgins, of confessors, of holy men, of holy women, of pastors. Each constellation is different and each saint-star within the constellation is entirely different also, in appearance, in talents, even in holiness. It is a fruitful, if mind-boggling meditation, to think about how different each human being really is. We each have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, some hair and yet look at the immense variety of facial countenances. We all have basic vocal cords, yet what a wide range of voices emerges from us, alto, soprano, and yet each one of these is different in tone. Saints are something like that. Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches that each person is a reflection of one particular attribute of God. This is a wonderful thing to think about and meditate on. Each of us is called by God precisely to glorify Him in a uniquely special way. A Constellation of Saints by the Carmelite Sisters